


Parallels 2 bonus scene #5

by spoffyumi



Series: Parallels & Parallels 2 bonus scenes [6]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 09:24:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7796323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spoffyumi/pseuds/spoffyumi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This takes place after chapter 23 of Parallels 2.</p><p>Bucky wakes up and Steve recognizes him.</p><p>**This is not a new work, it was previously posted on my Tumblr.**</p>
            </blockquote>





	Parallels 2 bonus scene #5

This time Steve _had_ fallen asleep, face down.   He awoke with a snort to find Vision standing on the other side of Bucky's bed, watching him.  "Has Wanda spoken to you about how creepy it is to watch people while they sleep?" Steve asked him, wiping a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth.

"She has not.  I only assumed, because you have been watching Mr. Barnes sleeping, that this was an acceptable behavior."

Steve felt his face heat up.  "I suppose you're right.  Uh – so what happened?  Is this my Bucky?"  As the words _my Bucky_ fell from his lips, he felt his face start to burn.  "I mean – well –"

"I understand, Captain Rogers.  Unfortunately, he was asleep in the other realm, having been sedated.  It seems time moves somewhat differently in each universe, and about an hour had passed.  From what I gathered from listening to the nurses, Mr. Barnes awoke and promptly 'freaked out.'"

"Ah," said Steve.  "So that was probably the same Bucky who woke up here and destroyed the lab.  Well, I guess we can assume the switch was made."

"Yes."

"So now..."  He looked down at Bucky's sleeping face.  "Now we just wait until he wakes up."

"Is there not a way to wake him immediately?"

"They've been tranquing him every two hours," Steve said, looking at the IV snaking from Bucky's hand up to the bag of clear liquid.  "So it'll only be about fifteen minutes."

"Best to warn the staff.  In case there is some confusion upon waking."

"You think he'll be confused?" Steve asked.  Of course Bucky would be confused.  He'd been thrown into not only one other world, but two.  And he already had memory problems... although Steve had suspected back in Bucharest that Bucky remembered a lot more than he let on. 

"He was lucid each time I've found him," said Vision.  "He seems to be quite adaptable."

Steve smiled down at his Bucky. 

"Yes, well, I'll let the others know he'll be waking up soon."  Vision headed for the door.

"Um, maybe... I mean, you should probably let them know, but maybe they could wait outside?  I'm just thinking that if he's disoriented when he wakes up, it would be better if it's just me to talk him down.  I know he won't hurt me."

"As you wish, Captain."  Vision inclined his head and walked through the closed door.

The next fifteen minutes were the hardest of Steve's life.  Every muscle twitch had Steve searching Bucky's face for signs that he was waking up, while the clock in the room ticked on and on. 

But finally, Bucky's fingers curled around Steve's hand in a way that was more deliberate, and then Bucky's eyes fluttered open.

Steve remembered when he had woken up in that other world, how strange it had been.  Even though this world would be familiar to Bucky, he stayed quiet and let Bucky look around and take everything in.  He looked at Steve, his eyebrows drawing together.  "Steve?" he tried to say, but the sound creaked out.

"Let me get you some water," Steve said.  He poured some from the jug on the tray at the bedside, then turned to help Bucky drink from the cup.

Bucky was staring down at his missing arm in horror. 

"It's okay, Buck," said Steve.  "They're working on a replacement arm for you.  Don't worry."

Turning his head, Bucky stared at Steve blankly.  Steve held up the cup, and eased his hand under the back of Bucky's neck so he could drink from it without spilling too much.  Water seemed to help a little, but Bucky looked back down at the black covering on the metal stump.  "What happened?" Bucky asked, a little breathlessly.

He was going to have to be careful.  He didn't want to traumatize Bucky any further. "What do you remember?"

Swallowing, Bucky licked his lips, then said, "I remember we went to bed.  We were talking about..." Here Bucky glanced at Steve.  "About Captain America."

 _Shit._  This wasn't his Bucky.  Or was it?  Maybe Bucky was just being really careful.  "Do you remember who Captain America is?" Steve asked.  "Who he really is?"

Bucky looked at Steve for a long time.  So long, that Steve knew this wasn't his Bucky.  "You?" Bucky said finally.

"Yes," said Steve, relieved that Bucky at least knew this much.

"Steve?" Bucky seemed to recognize him now.  At least, he was looking at Steve like he knew him. 

"Yeah?"

"Steve.  You're Captain America."

That was hard to hear.  Steve tried to smile, though.  "Yeah."

"I'm in your world now, then?"  Bucky struggled to sit up, looked at his arm again.  "You never told me your Bucky lost his arm." 

For a minute Steve couldn't breathe.  _Your Bucky_.  Steve had spoken to this Bucky before?  Told him about his Bucky?  Of all the coincidences, this had to be a huge one.  The freaked-out, lab-destroying Bucky was gone, and hadn't swapped back.  "Bucky?" was all Steve could say.  This Bucky looked just like his Bucky.  He wouldn't have the tattoos, so Steve couldn't tell visually if this was the other Bucky he remembered. 

"It's so weird, because we were just talking about this," Bucky said with a little laugh.  He swallowed, grimacing.  "I mean, this can't be a roleplay, because – the arm – but yeah, we were talking about doing this roleplay where I'd pretend to be... your Bucky.  My Steve got a little jealous of us."  He gave Steve a crooked little smile.

Steve still remembered when they had roleplayed as cop and prisoner on Halloween, and he blushed.  "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"No, it's okay."  Bucky squeezed Steve's hand.  "This is just... weird.  How did this happen?  I was just sleeping."  He smiled again.  "I didn't get hit by a car or anything.  You didn't choke me out."  The smile faded.

"No, it was nothing you did.  There's been... there was some kind of mix-up," Steve started, and explained how his Bucky had ended up in some other universe, and the multiple attempts to switch him back.  "So I'm not sure if my Bucky is in your world, or if this other Bucky went there.  Because the Bucky in the other world is sedated... This is confusing."

"Sure is."  Bucky coughed, and tried to disengage his hand from Steve's, but Steve reached for the water and helped Bucky take another sip.  "Thanks."

"So you got your Steve back, then?  Does he remember anything?"

Bucky shook his head.  "He felt pretty cheated."

"Especially since only about two days passed here when it was weeks and weeks there."

At this, Bucky raised his eyebrows.  "Two days?  Oh."

"Yeah."

"And how long has it been since you've been back?"

Steve thought about it.  "Two years?"

"Two years?"  Bucky shook his head.  "No way, it's only been six months!"

"That's... weird," said Steve. 

A silence fell between them as they each tried to make the math work in their heads and failed.  And then Bucky squeezed Steve's hand again.  When Steve looked up, a smile quirked at Bucky's mouth.  "So, in two years... did you miss me?"

Steve blushed again.  "I did."  He looked down at Bucky's hand.  This was his Bucky's body, but not his Bucky, he had to remind himself.  "I've been here looking for my Bucky this whole time.  I felt like my feelings toward him had changed, because of you.  I felt like, if I could find him, I would remember how it felt with you.  But then..."  His throat closed up.

"You didn't feel the same?" Bucky asked.

"No, I did.  I mean, I just wished I had more time.  I imagined it all in my head so often.  How it would be.  And then, of course, it wasn't like that at all.  I had to try to get to him before he was shot on sight.  And then he pretended he didn't remember me, which hurt, and I barely had time to think about it before we were getting shot at and attacked and had to run."

"So you never got to tell him how you felt before he... got frozen?"

"No.  There was a moment—" _The elevator, that small electric space between them_ "--but then it was gone and Bucky decided to go back into cryo so no one else would get hurt.  I think... I think he was trying to protect me."

"Is that why you woke him up?  You wanted to tell him?" Bucky was grinning now.

"Yeah," said Steve with a sigh and a little smile.  "How romantic, huh?  Too bad it all got screwed up."

"Well, can't your pal Vision just send me back?  I mean, _your_ Bucky must be with my Steve."  Bucky shook his head, still smiling.  "Oh, man.  Steve really got what he wanted."

"I guess."  Steve looked behind him for Vision, forgetting that the room was secure – no windows – and they were being watched on a video camera.  "I could go out and tell them we can try sending you back."

"Wait," said Bucky, when Steve started to stand up.  "Can we...?"

Steve stopped.  Glanced up at the security camera in the ceiling.  Looked at Bucky.

He couldn't deny that he wanted to kiss Bucky.  He wanted to kiss _his_ Bucky, yes, but there had been a lot of nights where he thought about _this_ Bucky, too.  Remembered things they had done, tried to join both Buckys together in his imagination.  The thing about this Bucky was that he already loved Steve.  Steve wouldn't have to work to make this Bucky want him that way.

With a sudden, hot flush, he recalled what Vision had said, about Bucky being "orally serviced."  His Bucky was going to come back and have the same feelings Steve did.  He had to. 

Back to the security camera.  He could disable it, somehow.  Cover it up.  He looked around to see what he could use.  _Just one kiss_ , he told himself.  _It wasn't like cheating_. 


End file.
